


putting on appearances

by mizzymouse



Series: Randland University (College AU) [4]
Category: Wheel of Time - Robert Jordan
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - College/University, Multi, Office Party, Romantic Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-14
Updated: 2017-04-14
Packaged: 2018-10-18 21:09:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,519
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10625196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mizzymouse/pseuds/mizzymouse
Summary: Rand takes all three of his girlfriends out to a formal function for the first time. Unfortunately, it's a department mixer.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I am impatient and don't feel like spacing out how I'm posting these. 
> 
> Background information for this AU is found on the series page.

“Rand? You ready to go?”

“Yeah, I am. Elayne, who’s idea was it for all of us to get ready at my place? There aren’t enough bathrooms. I would have been ready an hour ago if we weren’t all doing this here.”

Rand walked into the living room, straightening his tie one last time, and immediately lost track of what he was going to say next. All three of his girlfriends were looking at him impatiently. They polisci department mixer was about to start, but Rand had already planned on being fashionably late, so no harm was done. 

They had all decided on vaguely matching outfits to make it as clear as possible that they were indeed together. Everyone in the department knew he and Elayne were dating, since they had many of the same professors, but they were all pretty sure nobody knew about Aviendha and Min. Not that they had been secretive about it. Most people were pretty oblivious, and Rand didn’t go out of his way to make smalltalk with classmates. They had hoped that at least a matching color scheme (grey and black with teal accents) would help people see them as a group. Rand’s dark grey button up with a teal tie and black pants matched Elayne’s black pencil skirt and teal blouse. Somehow, she had shoes in the same blue-green. Min had teal pants that fit her legs tightly and a button up just a few shades lighter than Rand’s. The busy geometric pattern decorating Aviendha’s high-collared sweater dress had that exact same teal as well. How they had managed that, Rand would never know. 

“What?” Min cocked her head and smiled at him, and Aviendha and Elayne followed suit. 

Rand realized he had been staring blankly at the three of them. They were all beautiful, in dramatically different ways, and when they smiled at him he could think of little else. He felt his face flush. 

“Oh, uhh, it’s nothing. Let’s go. Don’t want to be late.” He rushed out the door before they could question him further. _I have appearances to put on. I’ll be dumbstruck by the three of them later, after this damn mixer is over._

* * *

The department had one of the large classrooms cleared of desks for the party. Some banquet tables and a few scattered chairs had been set up instead. For an event with essentially required attendance for upperclassmen and graduate students, the crowd was surprisingly lively. Probably because of the several bowls of punch, one of them dark enough to be filled with red wine. It was likely the others were also alcoholic, though they might not have been when they had been set out. Rand drew his head back around the corner of the door frame, took a deep breath, and set his jaw. 

“What? Let’s go in already, before the grad students take all the good hummus.” Min rubbed her palms together excitedly, a competitive glint in her eye. 

Aviendha reached over and patted Rand affectionately on the cheek. “It will be fine, I’m sure. Min is right. The sooner we go in, the sooner we can leave.”

“I know, I know.” He took her hand from his face and held it tightly. “This is the first time we’ve all gone to some kind of formal function together. I have to prepare myself from the same tiresome smalltalk from everyone. And the annoying, personal questions about us.”

Elayne laughed and put on her best impression of one of their least favorite professors. Her voice dropped an octave and took on an exhausted monotone. 

“So, uhh, Rand… How are you studies going? Are you finishing my assigned reading on time? I hope you don’t think it’s a bore. Agricultural law is my favorite topic.” Everyone giggled. 

“Oh, Elayne, is that Rand boy treating you like the princess you are?” Rand’s attempt at a lilting falsetto was less successful, but it got the point across. This professor was notoriously nosy when it came to students’ personal lives. “I don’t see him around much. Does he really spend _all_ his time studying? Perhaps you should find someone more, I don’t know, _engaging_ to be around.” This time, the laughter was more enthusiastic. 

“Come on, woolhead,” Min said, grabbing Rand by the shoulder and turning him towards the door. “If people don’t understand, that’s none of our problems. Let’s just try to have a good time. It’ll be over before you know it.”

“Fine, fine, you’re probably right. Just don’t embarrass me in front of the professors. My grades probably depend on it.”

* * *

Four pairs of footsteps, with varying degrees of stability, stumbled through the doorway to Rand’s bedroom, and were immediately followed by four almost identical heavy _thumps_ as they whole group sat down heavily on the unmade bed. Rand himself was a little flushed from the punch, and his face hurt. Mostly from smiling. Despite his apprehension, the evening had gone well, his three witty, intelligent, and wonderful girlfriends not embarrassing him in front of the professors even once. _Well_ didn’t mean the same thing as _smoothly_ , though. 

Clearly, they had not been the first to arrive by far, since several of the grad students were far enough into the punch to sway a little when they walked. 

“I was right, someone spiked the punch. What is this, high school?” Rand stage-whispered into Elayne’s ear. He heard someone trying to hide a laugh. 

“You know it might as well be. There are more cliques in politics than in a group of teenagers. Polisci students are both - politicians in training and overgrown teenagers.” Her comment got a few more chuckles, and definitely from some of the professors in the room. A dirty look from one of the unsteady drunkards, too, but he almost missed the edge of his chair as he tried to sit and stare Elayne down at the same time. After that, he just looked sheepish. 

The four of them separated after that, floating between conversations. Rand got several questions from different professors about whether or not one or another of the girls was “with him.” And when he said yes, they always mentioned confusedly that they had thought he was with one of the others. Another affirmative reply gained him another confused look, but never more. Occasionally, someone else in the conversation would nod in understanding after one of those exchanges. Some progress was being made after all. 

At one point, the four of them ended up back together in the same circle of students. Rand must have made a really bad joke, he couldn’t remember what, because Min reached over and untied his tie from around his neck. Everyone else in the circle was waiting expectantly, clearly curious as to what Rand would do in retaliation. 

“What was that for?”

“You can’t have this anymore.” She was slipping it around her own neck, flipping her collar up so she could tighten the knot. “It’s mine now.”

“But now we won’t match.”

“You don’t deserve to _match_ anymore, Rand. Not after that,” Elayne said, spinning Min around to straighten her collar.

“Absolutely not. Go tell your terrible jokes to someone else.” Aviendha grinned in amusement, and Rand gave her an overdramatic, exasperated look in reply. He threw up his hands and made to stalk away. A wave of laughter followed him all the way across the room to the punch bowl. _Okay, this is going well, better than I prepared for._ He paused after filling up his cup, swallowed its contents on impulse, and filled it again. And, after a longer pause, swallowed that cup too. _We’re leaving soon, might as well enjoy myself. And the free drinks._  

They did leave, but not as soon as Rand had expected. Not before a few of the professors got to see him a little more intoxicated than he hoped they ever would. He stumbled through at least one conversation a little tongue-tied, and spend another unable to stop himself from gushing to some of the grad students about how great his girlfriends were. Not that they disagreed with him. Aviendha ended up steering him out of the building before he could accidentally make a fool of himself. She actually herded all of them out, pulling Elayne away from some boring conversation about the finer points of tax law and Min away from the last of the hummus. 

Now that they were all home, the last of Rand’s anxiety melted away. He had removed as much of his clothing that didn’t require standing back up to get rid of and fell back onto the bed.

“Hey, Min, can I have my tie back now?”

“Nope, it’s mine now. Teal is a good color on me. I think I’m going to keep it.”

“But it’s mine! And we won’t be able to match anymore if you take it.”

“We’ll all match once we’re in our skins, country boy.” She reached back to tug playfully at his shirt buttons. 

“Yeah, right,” Rand laughed, grabbing whatever arms he could reach and dragging all three of them down with him. 


End file.
